Lophophora williamsii cacti

[dvg]

My wife and i attended a meeting with our local Cactus Club a couple of weeks ago, and i had a chance to talk to one fellow who was looking to give away Lophophora williamsii seeds produced by his own flowering plants.

So i took him up on his offer and he doled me out a few dried seed pods from the ziplock bag he had brought along with him.

The seeds still needed to be removed from the dried fruit encasing them.

Here are the seeds in a bowl, finally extricated from their sticky, pulpy wombs.

There was still some of the fruit residue adhering to a few of the seeds, but an overnight soak and a quick scrub the next day successfully removed any of the excess pulp that was sticking to them.

The seeds were then placed into their germination chambers, and after about four days the seeds were germinating well...

...the freshness of the seeds allowed for a very high germination rate.

Most of the seedlings have been potted up now, with maybe a few stragglers yet to come.

A pot with it's wee little green blob occupants.

dvg

 

[Omri]

Excellent stuff there.
I know a peyote farmer who grafts his new born seedlings onto a Pereskiopsis and get them from your size to this in little over a year:

With only a year to flower and sometimes even less, that's brilliant! once they start growing shoots you're taking them off, let the scar heal and root them in a pot/soil.

They truly are beautiful AND fun to grow. best of luck my friend!

 

[queequeg152]

very very very cool.

 

[dvg]

Thanks guys.

One of the pots of L. williamsii seedlings, starting to show a few of their spines.

These youngsters start out with juvenile spines, but don't keep up their tough looking Billy Badass image forever.

These spines are eventually lost and replaced with a woolly hair.

dvg

 

[Omri]

Good stuff!

 

[dvg]

Earlier today i had a chance to take a few photos and was able to do an update on some of these seedlings.

These babies were just watered again on the weekend, and were probably left a little on the dry side longer than they may have liked, but they appear to have bounced back nicely.

Seedling cacti are better off kept a bit on the moist side for faster growth at that tender age.

Though they are growing well enough, they still have quite a ways to go before they get to this size...

dvg

 

[RaelThomas]

Very nice work!
That caespatosa is Indeed a pretty sight!

 

[Omri]

Good job, dvg!

 

[11010490]

Excellent stuff there.
I know a peyote farmer who grafts his new born seedlings onto a Pereskiopsis and get them from your size to this in little over a year:

Depends on what you're after in the plant. If it's mescaline you're after then there's a lot of debate about the effect grafting has on the amount of mescaline that develops.
If its ornamental, then go for it.

 

[Omri]

Depends on what you're after in the plant. If it's mescaline you're after then there's a lot of debate about the effect grafting has on the amount of mescaline that develops.
If its ornamental, then go for it.

Peyotes are one of nature's wonders. harvesting them for a trip would be just awful.
I grow them because I love and respect them. if you want mescaline, grow some of the faster growing cacti.

 

[Emu]

I find several of natures wonders quite tasty!!

 

[dvg]

Thanks for the comments.

Here's a group shot of all three pots of these lil fellars, with mechanical pencil for size context.

dvg